When the Los Angeles Kings clinched a playoff birth last night it guaranteed that the Columbus Blue Jackets would receive their first-round pick in the 2023 NHL entry draft.
Columbus originally acquired a conditional first round pick from the Kings at the trade deadline as part of a package for goaltender Joonas Korpisalo and defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov.
The condition on the traded pick was that if Los Angeles did not qualify for the 2023 playoffs, Columbus would have instead received a 2023 second-round pick and a 2024 second-round pick.
Columbus will likely have the extra pick land somewhere late in the first round, but should be pleased with their slotting in what is expected to be a deep draft.
This trade could ultimately turn out to be a win for both teams. Columbus is trying to rebuild around Johnny Gaudreau and Patrik Laine and the first-round pick should help them fill out the depth around their two offensive stars.
Los Angeles on the other hand have emerged from their rebuild as a potential juggernaut in the Western Conference. They still boast a few remaining stars from their two cup winning teams and have done a nice job building around them.
This season the Kings were receiving some of the worst goaltending in the league until the trade with Columbus for Korpisalo. Korpisalo has gone 5-2-1 in eight games with a 1.75 goals against average and a .936 save percentage in what has been a career year for the 28-year-old.
This recent stretch of success couldn’t have come at a better time for the Finnish goaltender, he is slated to become an unrestricted free agent this summer and with very few options available on the open market, Korpisalo could be in line for a hefty payday.
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